Ravenga is a small island in

Torba Province Torba (or ''TorBa'') is the northernmost and least populous province of Vanuatu. It consists of the Banks Islands and the Torres Islands. The province's name is derived from the initial letters of "''TORres''" and "''BAnks''". Population The ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is also known as Ranenger.

Geography

Ravenga lies 1.2 km off the eastern coast of

Vanua Lava Vanua Lava is the second largest of the Banks Islands in Torba Province, Vanuatu, after slightly larger Gaua. It is located about 120 km north-northeast of Espiritu Santo and north of Gaua. Name The name ''Vanua Lava'' comes from the Mota ...

. The island has a diameter of about 800 meters, and is surrounded by white sandy beaches. On the northern, eastern, and southern sides of Ravenga, the reef extends offshore about 250 m, and then drops off into deep water.

Name

The name ''Ravenga'' comes from the

Mota language Mota is an Oceanic language spoken by about 750 people on Mota island, in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu. The language (named after the island) is one of the most conservative Torres–Banks languages, and the only one to keep its inherited five-v ...

, which was used as the primary language of the

Melanesian Mission The Melanesian Mission is an Anglican missionary agency supporting the work of local Anglican churches in Melanesia. It was founded in 1849 by George Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand. History Bishop Selwyn's see was focused on New Zealand. ...

. It is pronounced in Mota as . In

Mwotlap Mwotlap (pronounced ; formerly known as ''Motlav'') is an Oceanic language spoken by about 2,100 people in Vanuatu. The majority of speakers are found on the island of Motalava in the Banks Islands, with smaller communities in the islands of Ra ...

, it is referred to as ''Ayven̄'' (with the locative prefix ''a-''). All of these terms come from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *''Raβeŋa''.

References

Torba Province Islands of Vanuatu Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean {{Vanuatu-geo-stub